The Ham-Handed Paneroles of Government Do It Again

Lake Tahoe Music Festival calling it a "wrap" after this summer; blames AB-5

A Small Portion of Reason

No, Trump Didn't Cut the CDC's Coronavirus Budget. No, People Aren't Blaming Corona Beer for the Disease.

Sojourn #4

“I alternate between thinking of the planet as home - dear and familiar stone hearth and garden - and as a hard land of exile in which we are all sojourners.” ― Annie Dillard

This is Good News

The New York Public Library is about to unveil its first-ever permanent exhibition

Back When It was Christian

Listen: The Sound Of The Hagia Sophia, More Than 500 Years Ago

A Sojourner's Prayer #3

This day I ask the Lord to bless the journey that I undertake, that it may profit the health of my soul and body; that I may reach its end; and that, returning safe and sound, I may find all at home in good order. Do thou guard, guide, and preserve us. Amen.

A Sojourner's Prayer #2

 
O almighty and merciful God,
Who hast commissioned Thy angels to guide and protect us,
command them to be our assiduous companions from our setting out until our return;
to clothe us with their invisible protection;
to keep us from all unreasoblge danger; and
finally, having preserved us from all evil, and especially from sin,
to guide us to our heavenly home.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Sojourn

There is a monastic office known as Diurnum.  The word is Latin for "daily" and is the second office of the organized times of prayer according to the traditional hours.  When I was a monk, we would read Matins and celebrate the Mass at 8am, followed at noon by Diurnum, when we would spend from 30 to 45 minutes in intercessory prayer.

Like all words, it has traveled some.  As Latin descended through the "romance languages", particularly that of French, the word diurnum merged with words from other languages to become sojourner, which literally means "under the day".  By the time sojourner entered Middle English, it had become sojourn which, in its noun form, means a temporary stay in a place that is, if not new, at least different.

Since part of my Lenten discipline is to take steps to recover from the medical issues of last fall and the recent, daunting trip through the Pacific Rim and Sub-Continent, I've started walking several miles a day.  Since this has been a mild winter, I have been able to avoid the gymnasium and breathe fresher air and abide in nature, a place that isn't enhanced by someone's idea of motivational music.  This makes for a more spiritual experience.

It is not really perspicacious of me to note the role of travel in the New Testament, Jesus and company are in what appears to be perpetual motion, and as a metaphor for deliberate prayer.  I recall when I was training for a triathlon seven years ago that I would cease being actively conscious while in the middle of a long run or swim in a manner that was all but identical to what happens in prayerful meditation.  As I'm slower now, and with less interest in triathlons, I still note the same experience while on a deliberate walk.

So, my metaphor for Lent is that of sojourn.  This season, I'm going to travel towards and reside in a place founded on scripture, illuminated by thoughtfulness, and made solid by intention.

In the past several Lenten seasons, I have posted photos of waves with an inspirational text.  This year, I'm posting prayers and observations that remind us that intercession, mindfulness, and physical being enable us to walk in beauty, reconciled with God and with a sure and certain hope that we will reach our journey's end in safety.

A Pungent Disappointment

I rather wish politicians and media would not politicize coronavirus. We need clear statements and clear minds to keep everyone informed and educated and to offset unreasonable concern. 

In large part, this virus spread because the country in which it originally appeared kept it as secret as it could for as long as it could. Thus was denied any opportunity, in the early stages, to gather the knowledge necessary for proper diagnosis and prognosis.  The virus was politicized at its Genesis.

It would be good to turn off the political/media hate and anger machine for a week or so. If only they could temporarily pretend to be servants of the people, rather than of their own grubby needs, we would all be healthier. 

Some High-Minded Reading

T.S. Eliot’s Long Lent

A Sojourner's Prayer #1

O Lord, companion to all who sojourn:
Please walk with us on the journey we take.
Support us with strength and grace.
Help us to be mindful of Your presence and love in times of stress.
Guide our time so that it may be meaningful and memorable.
Amen.

But, But, But...My Moral Superiority

So it turns out tofu and all these other vegan foods are ruining the planet

It's an Easy Avenue to Moral Superiority, Mostly

The Perverse Panic over Plastic

Why do our political leaders want to take away our plastic bags and straws? This question is even more puzzling than a related one that I’ve been studying for decades: Why do they want us to recycle our garbage? 

The two obsessions have some common roots, but the moral panic over plastic is especially perverse. The recycling movement had a superficial logic, at least at the outset. Municipal officials expected to save money by recycling trash instead of burying or burning it. Now that recycling has turned out to be ruinously expensive while achieving little or no environmental benefit, some local officials—the pragmatic ones, anyway—are once again sending trash straight to landfills and incinerators.

Why Beauty Matters

Contemporary culture has discarded the concept of beauty in both art and philosophy. It is not a word much used nowadays, even by art critics, except ironically.  But the absence of beauty as a positive concept has left a hole in our thinking—not only in art and philosophy but also in education, politics, worship, and civic life. And its absence has doomed much of what we do in the public sector to failure. 

Teaching Proficiency Would Take Time Away from Teaching “Correct” Ideology

Ohio graduates won’t have to be “proficient” in math or English, under state superintendent’s plan

I was a high school teacher, public and private, for 21 years, those first years in Ohio, and those were the hungriest minds I ever encountered. It may be that times have changed, but it’s also likely that those responsible have just given up.

I should add that I also graduated from a high school in Ohio.  That education permitted me entrance into the Ivy League [an overrated status], Oxbridge study, and respect from the snobby pseuds of the east coast Protestant churches, and all I wanted to be was an auto mechanic.  Imagine if my educators' goal was to have made me merely competent.

Well, He is an Episcopalian

Pete Buttigieg Releases Study Bible With Notes That Explain Why Most Of The Verses Are Wrong

You Have to Ask?

Why US firms are desperate to retain ageing workers

As are Those Who Make a Living from It

DIVERSITY IS A BORE

Diversity has no plot. Or rather, it has half a plot, or one-fourth or one-fifth. I mean this in a literary sense. The elements of a diversity drama are bare and simple. In the beginning was the man, the white man, the straight white man, the Christian straight white man. And then there were many—women, blacks, browns, Hindus, Haitians, gays . . . it’s a storyline that is applied to our country, colleges, movies, and corporations, whether they fail or succeed in diversity.

That’s it, the story is set. Once we go from mono- to multi-, vanilla to thirty-nine flavors, nothing else follows or needs to follow. Diversity is an end in itself. Old plays had their opening, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement, but the diversity plot is a one-two, before and after. Our progressive leaders in business, media, education, and politics envision it in precisely this way.

Amen. Alleluia.

Stop Lying About Our Sons

Boys are not bad. Boys do not need to be fixed. Boys do not need to be more like girls. And no matter how many lazy pieces of faux-journalism appear that shame our sons as inherently toxic and expendable, we will fight to ensure that they know that the culture is lying to them.

My life would not be what it is without the men who have and continue to bless it.

Drop the Word "Green" and It's Still True

Boomers do better at green living than Millennials, survey shows

"Contrary to popular opinion, young people aren't practicing what they preach."

 Oh, really?  Do tell.

Vote Bloomie! Vote Bloomie! Vote Bloomie!

Bloomberg Bankrolls a Social-Media Army to Push Message:
Campaign is hiring workers for $2,500 per month to promote Bloomberg to all their contacts

Hey, Mike.  Where's my 30K?

Piquant Update:

OVERDUE NOTICE

Dear @MikeBloomberg:

Please be advised you are are late in payment in the following matter:

2/18/2020 SUPPORT TWEET AND MISC SERVICES $18,345

Please remit payment immediate to avoid forwarding to a collection agency.

Sincerely,
Dave's Grassroots Tweets Inc.

— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) February 19, 2020

Because of Decadence

Why are pop songs getting sadder than they used to be?

Seriously, a lot of songs during the Vietnam War were happier.

Endorsed

Sorry, New York Times, But America Began in 1776

Looks Like Democracy Just Died in the Darkness of Elite Fantasies

Ain’t They Dainty?

Georgetown libraries remove dozens of novels that offend some students

I have two responses:

1. Don’t read them
2. If your eye offends you, rip that thang out. (A paraphrase of scripture)

What a Merry Puddle

All Our Drugs To Treat The Coronavirus Depend On Chinese Suppliers

Yes. Next Question.

The Atlantic: Is free speech imperiled on American college campuses?

Hey, Campaigns are Expensive. $ has to Come from Somewhere.

Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and other Democratic senators had a secret meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during the Munich Security Conference last week, according to a source briefed by the French delegation to the conference. Murphy’s office did not respond to repeated requests for comment by press time.

Next week: Meetings with the Chinese foreign minister.

Endorsed

This “can teach anyone” quip is ignorant.
Farmers are electricians plumbers, mechanics, scientists, vets, engineers & H2O/soil conservationists; they take care of the crops that fill our cupboards & care for the animals who provide dairy & meat for our feasts.
But Ok GreyMatter https://t.co/I28Z1ji7pO

— SalenaZito (@SalenaZito) February 16, 2020

The Cost of Green

Child miners aged four living a hell on Earth so YOU can drive an electric car

A Review of an Interesting Book

Now the old family structure has been smashed, religion is in decline, patriotism is passé, and the cultural marketplace is fragmented. Because there is no longer a healthy dominant culture, would-be rebels have nothing to resist. So they playact the battles of a previous age.

News from the Bughouse

Yale against Western Art

About five years ago, the administration could have said to their whiny students, "No.  Stop the nonsense.  We stand for something with cultural bottom.  History pre-dates your birth.  If you don't like what we offer, there are other universities.  We will always have students.  You don't have to be one of them."

Instead, we have nonsense like this.

A Contrary Voice

GLOBAL WARMING IN A FEW CHARTS

As Predicted by The Coracle

Experts didn’t expect such a development but it appears the ranks of the “Nones” — people who identify with no religious denomination or following — are no longer increasing and a decline may even be ahead.

A Pungent Re-Definition

Millionaires engaging in woke sermons at awards ceremonies are offering "cultural instruction".

Some puzzlewit saying something cruel and stupid on Twitter is engaging in "performative sociopathy".

Creating satirical comedy that's actually funny is engaging in "cultural damage".

Don't you love this century?

It's Pure Discrimination

‘The golden retriever was robbed!’ Many dog lovers disappointed that a poodle won Westminster — again

But Human Rights Make ME Feel Good

'Human rights can no longer claim to be innocent': The West's decades-long obsession with human rights over traditional foreign policy has led to perpetual war, slave markets and ethnic cleansing in the Middle East

Of Course They Do

Connecticut Democrats Want to Tax Insulin

Having Been One Step Ahead of the Virus for the Past Month, I Had Hoped to Outrun It

Coronavirus Is Bad. Comparing It to the Flu Is Worse

As is Often the Case

The real Calamity Jane was distressingly unlike her legend

Satire, or is It?

OBERLIN, OH—According to a study released Monday, women—once empowered primarily via the assertion of reproductive rights or workplace equality with men—are now empowered by virtually everything the typical woman does

This Should Go Without Saying, Alas

To show compassion for the living, go to wakes and funerals

Send More Chuck Berry

Something in Space is Sending Earth Signals Like Clockwork, Scientists Don’t Know Why

(Classical reference in the heading.)

Weirdly, Secrecy and Suppression Don’t Effectively Address Epidemics

China’s Communist Party faces recriminations over virus

I Saw This Movie. It was Made by Hammer Films and Starred Peter Cushing

Chernobyl shocker as fungi that eats radiation found inside nuclear reactor

This Would Seem to Defeat Their Green Purpose

Wind Turbine Blades Can’t Be Recycled, So They’re Piling Up in Landfills

In Australia, they're called "bird blenders" for what they do to the local avian life.  There is no perfect solution to energy production.  Well, except for nuclear power, but no one seems to want to do that in the U.S.A.

The Ignored Reality about Battered Husband Syndrome

Don't #BelieveAllWomen: The Truth About Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

After Traveling with the English for the Last Month, I Enjoy Stories about Them Killing One Another

British Crime Classics 

Related:  Books That I Cannot Wait Not to Read

Needlehooks

‘Woke’ is no longer simply a matter of standing up to racism, but is irrevocably connected to the authoritarian mindset of the identitarian left. Rather than confront bad ideas through discussion, debate, ridicule and protest, those who self-identify as ‘woke’ would sooner intimidate their detractors into silence through what has become known as ‘cancel culture’. More insidiously, they have sought to empower the state and strengthen hate-speech laws, which curb individual freedom. They do all this in the belief that theirs is a righteous cause, but their illiberal actions ultimately bolster the very ideas they purport to despise.

German Dude, Super Genius

Man creates fake traffic jam on Google Maps by carting around 99 cellphones

German News Deeply Puzzled by U.S. Geography

The Day Thus Far

Stop Blaming Capitalism For Your Problems

Life will be so much better under socialism, they say. You’d have no student loan debt, healthcare would be paid for, and employers will pay you a working wage. Perhaps with everything in life taken care of, you can now finally be happy because you won’t be broke and anxious all the time, struggling to make a living under the “injustice of capitalism”.

Sounds great! Sign me up!

But wait, if you look closely, there is a problem with that sales pitch. You’ll realize how this is a sales pitch, one that preys on people who are bad at making good choices in life. Socialism is sold by convincing the people who’ve been making bad decisions in their lives that their hardship is due to external factors. “It’s not your fault and you just can’t help it – it’s the capitalist system that’s keeping you down!”

Most Protestant Churches Will Do This For Free

Why liberal white women pay a lot of money to learn over dinner how they're racist

It Doesn’t Matter; the Last Time I was in Baltimore, Residents Pretty Much Just Threw Their Trash in the Street

Baltimore County hasn’t recycled glass in 7 years. But officials say residents still shouldn’t throw it out.

Why, Exactly, Did NY Lose Two Congressional Seats Last Census?

Is it because fewer and fewer people want to live in a state that charges one to...look at the sky?  Hmmm.

Whether or not you love the guy, hate the guy, or are completely indifferent to him, misrepresentation and exaggeration are just going to give you more Trump

What counts as a "massive" crowd for Bernie — in the opinion of the NBC headline writer? The headline: "With live music and booze, Sanders draws massive crowd to party-like Iowa campaign rally/3,000 people turned out for his rally in Cedar Rapids on Saturday night, dwarfing attendance figures for events held by rival campaigns."

If Trump did a rally and 3,000 people showed up it would be called abysmally small, wouldn't it? And it would be abysmally small for Trump.

A Pungent Question

Granted, I’ve been traveling through Asia, the Sub-Continent, and the Middle-East for the better part of the past month, and values are different in Hindu and Muslim countries than in the USA, but after watching the Super Bowl half-time show, I have to ask. Is the whole #MeToo, #RespectAllWomen thing in the media over?

I'm Back

Prince Charles flew 16,000 miles in just 11 days using three private jets and one helicopter before proudly posing with Greta Thunberg in Davos

So, I just spent some time in Mumbai (Bombay) where the air was almost solid with pollutants.  Why isn't the screamy Swedish kid yelling at them instead of us?  Is anyone in the public square really serious about this or is it all just a pose?

Oh, I know the answer.